Given name & surname · also Hebrew
Dan
“he judged”
Dan is used as a given name and a surname. One Hebrew interpretation is “he judged.”
Original Hebrewדן
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Hebrew interpretation is “he judged.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
In English use, Dan is used as a shortened form of Daniel.
The story
The name appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Dan appears in Genesis 30:6, Genesis 14:14, Judges 18:7.
- Genesis 30:6
- Genesis 14:14
- Judges 18:7
From biblical name research
Dan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 107,130
- 106,554 boys · 576 girls
- Most popular year
- 1958
- 3,702 babies
- 2025
- 88
- #1,962 for boys · #9,603 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 78 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,962 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,696 in 1960. It also appeared in 10 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (10). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 127,523 as a first name in 2020; 2,566 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Dan’s family of names
In English usage, Dan is a diminutive of Daniel. In Czech usage, Dan has a feminine form in Dana. Dan has a related form in Danny.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Dan has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
17 related names in 9 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 18
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 8
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 10
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
- Jadonshares a root
- Dinahshares a root
- Midianshares a root
- Madonshares a root
- Abidanshares a root
- Middinshares a root
- Medanshares a root
- Hashbaddanahshares a root
Show 2 moreShow fewer
People named Dan
- Dan Quaylevice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993born 1947
- Dan ShechtmanIsraeli scientistborn 1941
- Dan CastellanetaAmerican actorborn 1957
- Dan AykroydCanadian-American actor (born 1952)
- Lin DanChinese badminton playerborn 1983
- Taejo of Joseonthe first king of Joseon Dynasty in Korean history1335–1408
- Dan StevensBritish actorborn 1982
- Dan SimmonsAmerican novelist (1948–2026)
- Dan ReynoldsAmerican singerborn 1987
Characters named Dan: Dan Dare (comics character), Dan Humphrey (Gossip Girl).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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